AUSTIN — Federal investigators said a third person pleaded guilty as part of an investigation into Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar on charges that he accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani-controlled energy company and a Mexican bank.
Irada Akhoundova, 67, pleaded guilty May 1 in federal court in Houston to acting as an agent for Azerbaijan without first registering with federal authorities. Details of her guilty plea were unsealed on May 9.
Federal authorities have accused Cuellar, 68, and his wife Imelda Cuellar, 67, of accepting the money between 2014 and 2021 in exchange for the legislator promoting the interests of the former Soviet republic and the Mexican bank in the United States. . Cuellar assures that they are innocent.
One of Cuellar’s top aides, Colin Strother, and a Texas political and business adviser, Florencia Roden, reached plea deals last March on serious money laundering charges in connection with the Mexican bank.
According to court records, Akhoundova’s plea agreement is part of the same investigation, and unlike the other two, it states that she “fully cooperates with the United States.” Alleged bribes to promote Azerbaijani interests exceeded $300,000.
“As long as Akhoundova is telling the truth, we have nothing to worry about,” said Cuellar’s attorney, Chris Flood. “Congressman Cuellar never agreed to act as a foreign agent and he has always voted with his conscience and taking into account what was most convenient for those he represented, like many of his colleagues.”
Akhoundova’s plea agreement describes her as “a active member of the Azerbaijani-American community in Texas.” She adds that she worked between 2014 and 2017 as director of a Texas subsidiary of an Azerbaijani energy company, where she submitted false receipts for consulting services and helped facilitate payments that she considered “convenient” to the oil company and the Azerbaijani government. .
The plea deal also indicates that he knowingly helped establish another affiliated company in Texas that would act on behalf of the Azerbaijani government and a state oil company, without having registered as an agent of a foreign entity.
Akhoundova faces up to five years in prison. A lawyer for Akhoundova has not responded to a message seeking comment.
Payments through a “ghost” company
According to the indictments against the Cuellars, the Azerbaijani energy company initially made payments through a Texas-based shell company owned by Imelda Cuellar and two of the couple’s children. The company received monthly payments of $25,000 under a “sham contract,” allegedly in exchange for unspecified strategic consulting and advisory services.
Azerbaijani authorities wanted to generate support for the country in its conflict with Armenia over disputed territory, the immigration status of Azerbaijani citizens, and promote the country as a strategic ally of the United States, according to the indictment.
Among other things, Cuellar agreed to influence charitable initiatives for Azerbaijan and deliver a speech in favor of the country on the floor of the federal House of Representatives, according to the indictment.
Cuellar was at one time co-president of the Azerbaijani caucus in Congress, and the indictment against him claims that an Azerbaijani diplomat referred to him in text messages as “the Boss.”
In addition to bribery and criminal conspiracy, the Cuellars face charges such as conspiracy to commit wire fraud, acting as agents of foreign entities, and money laundering. If convicted, they could spend decades in prison, and would lose any property related to the proceeds of the alleged scheme.
Source: With information from AP
